NATO condemns ‘outrageous attacks’ in Syria

Copenhagen, Aug 31 (): NATO condemned last week’s chemical attack in Syria, which caused major loss of lives. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Syrian government is supposed to have been behind last week’s chemical attack on the civilians near Damascus and urged an international response.

From the information available from a wide variety of sources, he pointed the Syrian regime is responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the attacks.

He said the use of chemical weapons in Syria “cannot go unanswered”, adding that the 28-member military alliance will continue to consult on the issue.

The secretary-general of NATO said in an e-mailed statement after representatives of the 28 allied governments met in Brussels on Wednesday, the information available from a wide variety of sources points to the Syrian regime as responsible for the use of chemical weapons in these attacks. He added any use of such weapons is unacceptable and cannot go unanswered. Those responsible must be held accountable.

He continued that they would continue to consult and keep the situation in Syria under close review, and NATO continues to help Turkey and protect the Alliance’s south-eastern border.

Rasmussen told that he finds no NATO role in international reaction to the chemical weapons attack in Syria although he said that the attack demanded an international response. He said that countries should decide whether to join in.

But, he told on Friday in Denmark that NATO has no plans to intervene in Syria, which would require the approval of all 28 of its members.

NATO’s highest decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, worked for days to reach an agreement on using its military command and control capability to organise the operation in Libya, and the governments of the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Turkey helped organise that breakthrough. But, no such cooperation is developing concerning Syria’s civil war.